Lubricating mechanism for deep well drills



Aug, 18, `1931. F. L. to. wADswoRl-H 1,819,532

LUBRICATING MCHANISM Fon DEEP wsLL DRILLS Filed Aug. 19, 1922*4 was.

Patented Aug. 18, 1931 rnnmr, o. WADSWOBTH, or Plinius-BuitenPENNSYLVANIA werarlre rrreneursuroa WELL nmfLLs Appiicaeon mea August19, 41:12a serraifNp. 5.82860.

My invention relates to lubricating mechanism of the generic characterdescribed in my copending application Ser. No.1582046 filed August 15th,1922, and the present application is, in part, a continuation .of thisearlier one. The general object of the improveniente herein set forth isthe provision of a simple and reliable lubricating mechanism for deep`well .boring tools or other ap-V paratus whichmust he operated at greatdistances below the surface .of the ground, or at other inaccessiblepoints; and one of the main features 0f this improved mechanism is theutilization of the Iweight of the drill stem, or driving shaft, .toeffect the .forced flow of the lubricant frem a suitable work.- ingchamber, .to all of the bearing or wearing surfacesof the tool or otherapparatus kwhen the latter is in operation.

provenients is the provision of `an auxiliary or reserve reservoir oflubricant .which is not subjected to the weight of the drill stem parte;and the provision -of means whereby successive amounts 4of lubricatingmaterial may be transferred from the said reserve reservoir to theworking chamber-without interrupting; the normal operative AInovementsof the drill head partsfand .then forced from l said working chamber tothe desired points under a controllable and predetermined pressure`component of' the total drill stein weight.

A Ifurther object of these improvements is to provide acombinationofelastic and h ydraulic pressure forces for balancing andcounteracting the major portion of the drillV stem or driving`shaftweight; and to provide means for readily varying the magnitude ofthese balancing forces, as this weight increases 0r diminishes, so as toobtain .2L preadjusted residual gravity pressure fol' effecting theforced discharge of. lubricating material from the working chamber. Y

Another .object .of my present invention is the provision*` of animproved form of drill stem whose working weight-when immersed in adrill hole that is lilled with water or other flushing liquid-will besubstantially less than that of an ordinary tubular drill stem of A moreSpecific purpose .of the present im-` the same power transmittingcapacity thereby reducing the necessary balancing forces for supportingor counteractingthe lniajor portion of the drill stem pressure on 'thelubricant inthe working chamber, andy also sensibly diminishing thestrain on Vthev suspension cables when the drill stem assembly is beinglifted from, orlowered into, the nbore hole.

Still another purpose of that part ofiny i nl vention which has todowiththe provision of' an improvedV drill stem, is the provision' of adouble-walledetwo-conduit driving shaft member whichlcan be used tocarry a stream of `flushing liquid to the bottom of thebore hole, andalso concurrently, or independently, used to convey either lubricant, orcompressed air, or other iluidffrom the surface ofthe ground tolchambers in the drill head t here' yby permitting, in some cases, oflonger continued or more effective operations thanvare possible withdeep well apparatus of the usual construction, l Y Y v l Other objectsland advantages, and niditional features, of'my rresniiimrvements willbe made apparent,to thoseslrilled in thei art,'by the following moredetailed ,del soription of certain illustrative embodiments tiereof,ywhich are shown in the accompanyine drawings; ,in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a portion of a drill 4head andr drill:stem construction which exemplifies this invention; Fig. 2 is anenlarged longitudinal section, on the plane 2 2 of Fig. l, of the lowerpart ,of the first figure; Figg is a cross section on the plane 3-3 ofFig. 2; Fig. el is a longitudinal section on the same plane as Fig. 2,ofthe upper part of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view, simi-V 8 isprovided with three correspondingly spaced slots; and the two membersare held in relatively reciprocable, but nonrotatable, relation by threekeys, 7, that are fitted tightly into the said slots and slide freely inthe said grooves. The upper end of the sleeve 6 is threaded to receive aring 10 that serves the joint purpose of closing the upper ends of thekeyways -thereby limiting the longitudinal separation of the members 6and 8-and of supporting a suitable packing ring and gland for theslidablyA engaged members. The head 4 is also provided with a tubulareX- tension 12 which communicates at its lower end with an opening 13that leads to the cutters onthe said head, and which is engaged at itsupper extremity, by a bearing 14 in the hollow screw sleeve 15. Thissleeve is rotatably connected to the plunger cap 9 by means of the tube17 and the shoulderedcollar 18; and its threaded periphery is engaged bya piston 16 that lits closely in the plunger member 8. vA powerful coilspring 19, which is capable of supporting a substantial part of thedrill steinweight, is interposed between the adjustable piston 16 and aplate 20 that rests on the upper face of the ldrill head 4. ,A secondcoil spring 21 is also interposed between the packing ring gland for thebearing 14 and a similar .packinggland 22 for the. central opening inthe plate 20.

The annular space between the sleeve and plunger, 6 and 8,-and the tube12which is closed at the topl by the sleeve and piston 15-16 and at thebottom by the plate 20-constitutes a lubricant chamber, which is incom'- munication with the space above the piston 16 through a springclosed valve 25, andwith the s pace below the plate 20 through a port 26that is controlled by the fpackless compressed air valve 27 The flexiblemetal belows or sylphon of this fluid pressure control valve isconnected with a lateral opening that contains an ordinary Schrader tirevalve 28 through which the said bellows can be charged to any desiredpressure. The annular space 29 between the recessed lower face of theplate 20 and the top of the drill head 4 is in communication with thebearings of the drill head cutter bits through a duct or ducts 23.

In the use of this apparatus the position of the piston 16 isadjusted-by applying a suitable wrench to the Octagon headed Vcollar18-until the initial tension of the coil spring 19 is suiiicient tosupport a very substantial part of the weight of the drill stem at thedesired depth of operation. The upper and lower chambers-on the twosides of this piston 16-are then l'illed with lubricant through theopenings 24 in the plunger cap 9 (preferably by inverting the tool andpumping in the material through a suitable connection that is attachedto the end of the cap) and the lower drill stem section is next insertedand screwed down vuntil it meets the end of the collar 18 and seals olfthe openings 24 from the central passage of the tube 17. The airpressure in the bellows of the control valve 27 is then adjusted untilit is just insuiiicient to keep the port 26 closed against the action ofthe residual or unbalanced gravity pressure on the parts, 8- 15, 16,when the full operating length of drill stem is in place and the drillhead has been lowered into contact with the bottom of the bore hole.Under such circumstances the weight of the drill stein-plunger assembly11-9-8-15-16-17 etc. will be supported in part on the elastic members 19and 21 and in part by the aggregate or accumulated hydraulic pressure onthe lower exposed faces of the parts 8-15 and 16 ,-this latter forcebeing equal to the area of the said faces multiplied by the unit surfacepressure on the head of the valve 27. v vSince this head is very smallas compared with the total end area ofthe parts 8-15 and 16; and sinceit is also considerably smaller than the spring bellows on which it ismounted; it will require only a relatively small air pressure in thesaid` bellows to resist a gravity pressure of several thousand pounds onthe plunger heads; and it would be possible to suiciently restrain thedownward movement of the said heads relatively to the driving sleeve6-and correspondingly control the discharge of lubricant through thepassages 26 and 23by the use of the fluid pressure valve 27 alone.-

But I prefer to employ the coil springs 19 and 21, as supplemental orcomplemental to the air spring control element 27, because thesupporting tension of the aforesaid coil springs increases as thedrilling operation proceeds and the members 6 and 8 gradually approach.each other-thereby eectin a closure of the valve 27 a ainst thediminisglied unbalanced weight of t e drill stem before the key 7 engagewith the lower ends'of the grooves -and also because of the action ofthesesprings in immediately restoring the said members to theirinitial-fully separated position when the drill stem is lifted a slightdistance. This expansion movement of the partially emptied lubricantreservoir causes the valve 25 tov open and admit a fresh supply ofunguent from the upper reserve chamber;v and when the drill stein isagain lowered the residual gravity pressure that remains unbalanced bythe expanded springs 19 and 21 overcomes the hydraulic resistance to theHow of liquid through the air spr-ing valve 27 and reestablishes thetemporarily interrupted flow of the lubricant to the cutter bearings.With this construction it is, therefore, possible to continue thedrilling operations-'with an occasional momentary lifting of the drillstem parts-until the large supply. of lubricant above the piston 16 hasbeen exhausted; and this long continued operain Figs. 1 and 4. Thisstructure comprises twoconcentric pipes 30 and 31 of substantiallydifferentdiameters, each of which preferablyV consistsY of uniformlengths of Vcold drawn tubing thatare integrally connected at their endsby special maleand female couplings 32 and 33. Each male coupling 32 isprovided with an outer threaded portion that engages one end of an outertube length 31 and an inner threaded portion that engages the adjacentend of an inner tube length V30, and the latter is also preferablybrazed or spot welded to the coupling at its exposed end junctiontherewith; i. e., at 34E. Each female coupling 33 is provided with anouter threaded porton to engage an end of another outer tube unit 31,and with an inner eoned seat 35 which is adapted to engage a eoned nut36 that is screwed down on the contigu-v ous end vof the correspondinginner tube length 30 and is then preferably braZed or welded thereto-asat 37. In assembling the unit sections of this dual tube structure, theadjacent ends of a pair of outer and inner pipe lengths are firstscrewed into the corresponding threaded portions of amale coupling32,-the outer pipe being screwed home until its extremity is jammedagainst the head of the coupling, as shown in Figs. 2 and f1. A femalecoupling 33 is next slipped over the opposite projecting end of theinner pipe length 30-the central bore of this coupling being large.enough to loosely engage'the unthreaded portion of the inner pipe-andscrewed down onto the contiguous endfof the outer pipe 31 until this endis also jammed against the shouldered head of the member 33. Thecoupling nut 36 is then screwed on to the unconnected extremity of theIinner tube 30 until its coned surface is tightly engaged with the seat35 ofthe female coupling 33'.' Asfallof. the engaging parts are providedwith the usual right hand threads, each successivestep in the.assembling operation tends to further tighten all of the ointspreviously made; and the final engagement of the coupling nut 36 withthe coned seat 35 locks all of the assembled elements of each dual tubesection into a substantially integral or unitary torquefresistingmember, (against right hand rotation), since any tendency of one ofthese elements to rotate in a clockwise direction, with reference to theothers, must result in forcing the coupled parts int-o an everincreasing pressureV contact. The purpose of the auxiliary welded orbrazed connections 34 and .37 is tovlock the parts against beingunscrewed by a reverse or left hand rotation, and thus produce a unitsection of stem that is adapted to equally well resist either right orleft yhand driving torques.

Thesuccessive independent engagement of the parts 31-33, and 36-30-35permits of a`relativeself adjust-ment of the inner and outer'pip'esections, 30-31, with respect to strains tend to further tightenthe joints between the assembled elements 30-31-32-33 and thereby assistin maintaining the rigid unitary character of the double tube drivingshaft sections as substantially integral torque resisting members. v

Each length of finished drillstem-as thus assembled-is provided at onee-nd with a male coupling. The thread union between the couplingelements 32 and 33 and the pipe or stem sections 31 is the same as thatof the ordinary sleeve coupling for astandard single tube drill stem.Lengths of my improved double tube structure can therefore be usedinterchangeably with lengths of the ordinary single tube drill stem, andeither form of connection can be coupled at willto the same plunger head9.

Then the couplingmembers 32 and 33 are screwed together the beveled endof the male coupling 32 engages with the eoned extremity of the lockingnut 36 in the female coupling 33, and-thus seals the joints of the innertube lengths 30 to form a continuous fluid tight conduit of uniformdiameter, through which flushing liquid may be conducted to the upperend of the plunger member 2 (or 8a).

The lower end of the double tube drill stem is secured to the plungercap 9 by means of a male coupling `unit whose lower beveled end engageswith the coned extremity of the collarlS; and the inner tube conduit 30is thus put in sealed communication with the tube connections 17-12 (or17a-12) which lead to the passage-way 13 in the drill'head 4.

Each of the coupling units 32 and 33 is also preferably provided with arow of apertures, 38, 38, that' open into the annular chambers betweenthe inner and outer tubes 30 and 31; and when these units are securedtogether, in the manner just described, the successive chambers are infree communication with each other through the apertures 38 and thespaces surrounding the locking nuts 36. The lower end of the continuouspassage way, which is thus formed, opens into the annular space betweenthe plunger cap 9 and thehead 18 of the tube v17 (or 17a) and isthereforel in direct communication with the openings 24 at the top ofthe upper lubricant chamber. The use of only one or two of my improveddouble tube sections at the lower end of the drill stem will thus permitof increasing the ilo AVIt

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capacity of the reserve lubricant reservoir to any desired degree; andif the entire length of kdrill stemis made up of such sections thelubricating material can be supplied asnecessary to the plungerreservoir (through the continuous conduit between the tubes 30 and 3l)without withdrawing the tool from the bore hole, or otherwiseinterrupting the continuity of the drilling 'operationsexcept for anoccasional. lifting of the drill stem for the purpose of passing freshsupplies of unguent to the lower pressure feed chamber of the device.` lThe use' of the semi-floating drill stem feature of my present inventionmakes it possible,.in fact, to dispense entirely with the relativelyreciprocating driving sleeve and plunger elements of the hereinbeforedescribed organizations; and to feed lubricant directly to the cutterbearings, from the surface of the ground, through the outer annularconduit in the double tube drill'stem. But this functional adaptation of the last considered portion of Amy improved rotary drill constructionis not herein speciiically illusi trated, as separately claimed.

The foregoing explanation of various applications of the presentinvention-asfillustrat-ed by two alternative Vforms of rotary drillvconstruction-will make it apparent to engineers, and others familiarwith the general' subject toV which this invention appertazins, that thecharacteristic features of my improvements may be utilized in varioustypes of deep'well apparatus, or analogous structures, in which certaininaccessible bearing or wearing surfaces must be supplied with asuitableI lubricant under considerable pressure; and it will also beobvious to such skilled workers that numerousV 4structural changes maybe made in my gravity actuated lubricating mechanism, or in my improveddouble tube driving stem or shaft-in order to best adapt theseimprovements to varying conditions of use-without altering thefunctional character, or the result attaining characteristics, ofsuchstructurally modified embodiments Aof the present invention. The

only limitations which I seek to impose on the scope of' this disclosurearethose indicated in the accompanying claims: f- 7 l. A driving shaftor stem for deep well drills and analogous apparatus, comprising laseries o'f tubesk of substantially different diameters disposed onewithin the other, multiple part coupling units secured t0 thecontinguous ends of said tubes and having fluid circulatingy passagesformed therein, said coupling units comprising means for radially andlongitudinallyL uniting said tubes to form a substantially integraltorque resisting member. fn 2L A double walled drivingstem for deep wellapparatus which comprises a series of tubes of substantially differentdiameter disposed onewithin the other, and a series of perforated'coupling units securedJ to threaded ends of the saidtubes and adaptedto radially unite said tubes into a substantially integral torqueresistinginember having two continuous and" independent passage waystherethrough, substantially as described( S. A driving stem for deepwell rotary drillsl which consists of two tubular membersyof'substantially different diameter dis-y posed one within the other, amale coupling adapted tor radially unite adjacent ends of these tubes ina tangentially rigid torque resisting member, a female coupling engagingt-he said male coupling, and a locking nut cooperatively engaged withthe said female coupling and with the continguousextremity Y of one ofthe' said tubes.l

4. A 'driving stem for deep well rotary drills lwhich. consists of twotubes of substantially different diameters arranged one c l Vdriven headoperatively connected to the lower Vend of the said shaft, a passage wayextending through said Vhead and incommunication with yone of thesaid-shaft conduits, a lubricant ,reservoir in the driven member, andmeans for establishing communication between said reservoir and theother Vof said conduits inthe driving shaft.

6. A rotary boring tool 'which comprisesV i the combination'of a drillhead, a double tube 'drill' stemV slida-bly but non-rotatably connectedthereto, avlubricant reservoir in saidheadand means forestablishingintermittent communication between said reservoir and a longitudinalpassage way in said drill'st'enfi.` A y 7 A rotary boring tool whichcomprises thefcombination ofv a drill head, a plunger member slidablybut non-rotatably coupled thereto, a lubricant reservoir of variablevolume between the relatively movable head and'plunger members, a secondreservoir within the plunger, and means for establishing communicationbetween-said reservoirs when the head and plunger members are separatedand theirstmentioned reservoir is expanded. Y I

8.'A'rotary`boring tool which comprissi ardrill head, a drill stemmember adapted to move longitudinally of the said head, means forholding the relatively movable membersin non-rotatable relation,a-reservoir of variable volume ybetween 'the' said movable parts, aspring adapted tohold said e izo yhas exceeded a predetermined value. t

parts in expanded position, a second reservoir of fixed volume, andmeans for opening communication between the variable and fixed volumereservoirs when the former is expanded by the said spring.

9. In a rotary boring tool the combination of a drill head, a drill stemfor rotating said head, means intermediate said head and said stemforpermitting a limited longitudinal movement of the two parts, a reservoirof variable volume between the relatively movrotatably coupling saidhead to said stem, a

lubricant reservoir of variable volume bounded by said relativelyslidable parts, ducts leading from said reservoir to the bearings ofsaid boring bits, and an adjustable spring closed valve controlling thepassage of material through said ducts.

11. In a rotary drilling tool for deep wells the combination of a drillhead, a drill stem assembly 'adapted to move longitudinally with respectto said head, means for holding these relatively movable parts innon-rotatable relation, a reservoir of variable volume between saidparts, means within said reservoir for substantially balancing theweight of the drill stem assembly, a second reservoir of fixed volumecarried by said assembly, and means for establishing an intermittentcommunication between said reservoirs when the tool is in'operation.

l2. In a rotary boring tool the combination of a drill head, a doublewalled drill stem slidably but non-rotatably coupled thereto, alubricant reservoir of variable volume disposed between theselrelativelyslidable parts, a yielding resistance member adapted to transmit asubstantial part of the drillv stem weight to the drill head, means forvarying the restraint action of the said resistance member on theapproachmovements V`of the said drill head and drill stem and therebycontrolling the discharge of lubri cantl fromthe saidreservoir, a meansfor in troducing a fresh supply of lubricant to the said reservoir whenthe said restraint action 13. In a rotary boring tool the combination ofa. drill head, a driving sleeve secured thereto, a hollow plunger'longitudinally movable with respect to said sleeve, means fortransmitting rotary movement from the said plunger tothedriving-sleeve-drill-head members, a lubricant reservoir disposedbetween these relatively movable parts, a spring closed valve disposedin an outlet from said reservoir, and a second valve controllingcommunication between said reservoir and the interior of the hollowplunger.

14. In a rotary boring tool the combination of a drill head, a doubletube drill stem provided with two independent passage ways therethrough,a plunger member interposed .between said head and stem members and tstem, an aperture in the drill head, and a hollow member leading fromsaid aperture to a bearing in said plunger and adapted to affordcontinuous communication between said aperture and the other of saiddrill stem passage ways.

15..'I`he hereinbefore described mode of feeding lubricant to thebearings of deep well drills which consists in confining a mass ofunguent in immediate proximity to said bearings, subjecting said mass toa part of the weight of the drill stem, intermittently relieving saidmass from such gravity pressure, and automatically replenishing thesupply of confined material from a reserve volume of lubricant duringsuch intervals of reduced pressure.

16. The hereinbefore described method of operating deep well drills andanalogous apparatus which consists in. confining a massof lubricant inimmediate proximity to the drill head, subjecting this mass of lubricantto apart of the weight of the drill stem to head cutters, transferring aremaining part of this lweight to the said cutters to thereby maintainthem in proper working engagement with the bottom of the bore hole,intermittently relieving the drill stem pressure on the lubricantwithout removing such pressure from the drill head, and replenishing thesupply of confined unguent during the i'ntervalsof reduced pressurethereon.

17. The herein described method of feeding lubricant to the bearings ofa rotary boring drill, which consists in confining a mass of unguentwithin said drilladjacent said bearings, subjecting said mass to thepressure of said drill stem, controlling the flow of unguent from saidmass to the bearings of the drill so as to maintain said mass under adetermined'l fluid pressure less than the pressure corresponding to theforce applied by said drill stem, and intermittently relieving said massof the weight of said drill stem whi le replenishing the supply ofunguent.

18. In combination in astem for deep well drills and the like, acoupling comprising a part provided with means for securing inner andouter tube sections in fixed radial relation, and with a clampingsurface, a part removably secured thereto and provided with means forengaging an outer tube section, and with a clamping surface, inner andouter tube sections secured to said first-mentioned part, an outer tubesection secured to said last-mentioned part, an inner tube section,surrounded by said last mentioned section, and extending through saidlast mentioned part, a nut secured to said last mentioned inner tubesection and engaged by said clamping surfaces on said parts.

19. A stem for deep well drills or the like, consisting of two tubes ofsubstantially different diameters arranged one within the other, atwo-part coupling, one part engaging adjacent ends of said tubes, theother part secured to the opposed extremity of another tube, and aconical lock nut secured to the extremity of another tube andco-operatively engaged by surfaces formed on both parts of saidcoupling.

20. In a rotary boring tool, the combination of a. drill head, a drillstem slidably but non-rotatably connected thereto, a member secured tosaid stem and forming, with a cavity in said head, a lubricant chamber,lubricant delivery ducts formed in said head and adjustable meansbetween said chamber and said duct for controlling the delivery oflubricant from said chamber to said ducts and for maintaining aweight-supporting luid pressure within said chamber.

2l. In a rotary boring tool, the combination of a drill head member, astem member telescoping therewith and movable longitudinally thereof,resilient means enclosed within both of said members and tending to movethem apart, means for limiting` the longitudinal movement and forholding said members against relative rotary movement and means foradjusting the initial tension of said resilient means.

22. In combination in a deep well drilling tool, a drilling head, adrill stem member engaging said head and movable longitudinally thereofand cooperating therewith to en-` close a lubricant chamber having aport leading to inaccessible bearings, a valve controlling said port andmeans controlling said valve responsive to the pressure within saidchamber.

23. A rotary boring tool which includes the combination of a drill head,adouble tube drill stem slidably but non-rotatably connected thereto, alubricant reservoir in said head, a longitudinal passageway in saiddrill stem, and an adjustable bellows valve for establishingintermittent connection between said reservoir and said passageway.

24. A rotary boring tool which includes the combination of a drill head,a double tube drill stem slidably but non-rotatably connected thereto, alubricant reservoir in said head and a longitudinal passageway in saiddrill stem, a valve for establishing intermit-`

